10.1177/0146167203260716PERSONALITYCozzolino et al. /AND GREED, SOCIAL DEATH, PSYCHOLOGY AND VALUES BULLETIN ARTICLE Greed, Death, and Values: From Terror Management to Transcendence Management Theory Philip J. Cozzolino University of Minnesota Angela Dawn Staples Lawrence S. Meyers Jamie Samboceti California State University, Sacramento Research supporting terror management theory has shown that concepts: value orientation and reactions to death participants facing their death (via mortality salience) exhibit awareness. more greed than do control participants. The present research attempts to distinguish mortality salience from other forms of VALUE ORIENTATION mortality awareness. Specifically, the authors look to reports of Early humanistic theorists such as Maslow (1954) and near-death experiences and posttraumatic growth which reveal Rogers (1963) first addressed the motives that fuel and that many people who nearly die come to view seeking wealth and guide attempts to fulfill goals and needs. Maslow (1954) possessions as empty and meaningless. Guided by these reports, suggested that human existence could only make sense a manipulation called death reflection was generated. In when individuals sought to achieve goals tied to their Study 1, highly extrinsic participants who experienced death inherent developmental promise. These goals include reflection exhibited intrinsic behavior. In Study 2, the manipu- personal growth, good health, a sense of autonomy, and lation was validated, and in Study 3, death reflection and mor- a desire to know oneself. Maslow went further, compar- tality salience manipulations were compared. Results showed ing “healthy individuals” who seek inner freedom in that mortality salience led highly extrinsic participants to mani- favor of external approval to “sick, neurotic people who fest greed, whereas death reflection again generated intrinsic, make the wrong choices” (p. 278). This humanistic per- unselfish behavior. The construct of value orientation is dis- spective posits that when focusing on goals stemming cussed along with the contrast between death reflection manipu- from external instead of internal forces (e.g., pursuits of lation and mortality salience. wealth instead of desires for insight) people are likely to falter along the path to self-actualization. Expanding this Keywords: greed; death reflection; mortality salience Authors’ Note: Angela Dawn Staples is now at the Department of Psy- chology, Indiana University, Bloomington. The authors thank Marti espite generations of poets, philosophers, and reli- Hope Gonzales for her comments on an early draft of this article and D Christopher M. Federico for statistical consultation. This article also gious leaders decrying the “deadly sin” of greed, much of greatly benefited from helpful comments provided by two anonymous humanity is presently engaged in a consumer-based eco- reviewers. A portion of this article was presented at the 2003 meeting of nomic system that is most successful when citizens want the Western Psychological Association in Vancouver, British Columbia, and seek to have. Public revelations of greed on the part Canada. Correspondence concerning this article should be ad- of a few corporate executives have recently left indivi- dressed to Philip J. Cozzolino, Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota, 75 East River Road, Minneapolis, MN 55455; e-mail: duals asking, “What is it that makes some people strive [email protected]. for excessive gains while knowingly leaving less for oth- PSPB, Vol. 30 No. 3, March 2004 278-292 ers?” In attempts to distinguish the psychological fac- DOI: 10.1177/0146167203260716 tors that drive greed, recent research has focused on two © 2004 by the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Inc. 278 Downloaded from http://psp.sagepub.com at UNIV OF ROCHESTER LIBRARY on June 11, 2008 © 2004 Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Inc.. All rights reserved. Not for commercial use or unauthorized distribution. PDF processed with CutePDF evaluation edition www.CutePDF.com Cozzolino et al. / GREED, DEATH, AND VALUES 279 thought, self-determination theory (Deci & Ryan, 1985, p. 64). For humans living in capital-based cultures, one 1991) proposes that meeting the fundamental needs of potential form of immortality seeking is excessive striv- competence, autonomy, and relatedness can lead us to ing for wealth. Terror management research has shown achieve what is known as psychological integration. that when participants are reminded of their mortal- When individuals satisfy native needs and approach inte- ity they become much more likely to defend their gration, they experience greater levels of well-being and worldviews. motivation. When, however, these needs are not met, Terror management research activates death aware- people yield to external drives for wealth and posses- ness in participants through a manipulation called mor- sions (Deci & Ryan, 2000). tality salience. In operationally defining mortality Kasser and Ryan (1993) found support for self- salience, researchers have exposed participants to gory determination theory when participants seeking self- video scenes, funeral homes, and fear of death invento- acceptance and relatedness exhibited greater adjustment ries (Greenberg, Pyszczynski, Solomon, Simon, & Breus, and social productivity and fewer behavioral disorders 1994; Nelson, Moore, Olivetti, & Scott, 1997). A com- than those aspiring for financial success. From these mon method of operationalizing mortality salience, results, Kasser and Ryan differentiated between intrinsic however, takes the form of open-ended questions ask- and extrinsic values. Individuals with an intrinsic value ing individuals to express the feelings and thoughts orientation (IVO) characteristically desire self-knowledge, they experience when thinking about their own death intimacy, and connections in the community, whereas (e.g., Goldenberg, McCoy, Pyszczynski, Greenberg, & people with an extrinsic value orientation (EVO) typi- Solomon, 2000; Kasser & Sheldon, 2000; Rosenblatt, cally desire money, fame, and beauty (Kasser & Ryan, Greenberg, Solomon, Pyszczynski, & Lyon, 1989). When 1993, 1996). This values model asserts that the balance exposed to mortality salience manipulations, individuals between EVO and IVO is critical when predicting the have punished those who do not agree with their world- harmful social and physical effects previously men- views (Greenberg et al., 1990) and have increased their tioned. Striving for extrinsic goals becomes problematic likelihood of stereotyping (Schimel et al., 1999). for people, the theory states, when their extrinsic values Some recent evidence points to the potential pro- outweigh their intrinsic values. Sheldon and McGregor social effects of mortality salience in what researchers (2000) validated the assumptions underlying intrinsic called the “Scrooge effect” (Jonas, Schimel, Greenberg, versus extrinsic values by showing that EVO participants & Pyszczynski, 2002). In that study, participants who revealed greater levels of consumption (i.e., greed) than experienced mortality salience gave more money to did IVO participants in a forest-management game. charity than did other participants; however, this gener- osity only occurred when participants considered the TERROR MANAGEMENT THEORY charities as part of their worldview. It can be inferred that Of all things that move man, one of the principal ones is mortality salience leads to prosocial behavior only if the his terror of death. (Becker, 1973, p. 11) needy person or organization is a member (or sup- porter) of the helper’s worldview. From this perspective, Based on the work of Becker (1973), terror manage- the “Scrooge effect” does not differ from terror manage- ment theory (Greenberg, Pyszczynski, & Solomon, 1986; ment results that demonstrate that mortality salience Solomon, Greenberg, & Pyszczynski, 1991) argues that generates worldview defense. our innate and all-encompassing fear of death is buf- The potential link between death awareness and fered through a dual-component process that consists of extrinsic values has recently received attention from self-esteem striving and the creation of cultural world- researchers trying to expand the list of factors, beyond views. It is through faith and investment in these value orientation, that play a role in greedy behavior. worldviews that people find meaning in life and become Using mortality salience, Kasser and Sheldon (2000) productive members of society. Becker and terror man- showed that compared to control participants, those agement theory further posit that the nearly insoluble asked to face their death expected to be worth more human reality of mortality awareness combined with an money in the future and to spend more money for plea- instinctive desire for survival compels attempts at sure. Participants facing their death also showed a immortality through culturally standardized systems greater propensity for avarice, although there was no evi- (e.g., capitalism) and symbols (e.g., money). In the face dence that mortality salience interacted with value orien- of mortality, humans seek everlasting life by creating and tation. A recent study by Dechesne et al. (2003) repli- embracing that which cannot die. Such immortality is cated Kasser and Sheldon’s (2000) findings (Study 2), gained through cultural ideologies and their extrinsic but only in men facing their death in a condition with rewards because these ideologies “seek the perpetuation